Latest news with #TenTorsChallenge
Daily Mirror
12-06-2025
- Daily Mirror
Prince William's desperate mission as 'things need to change' with royal icon
Dartmoor National Park faces greater heat stress for crops and livestock in summer and increased and more extreme rainfall in winter, according to the Met Office's research Prince William has vowed to embark on an ambitious project to help restore Dartmoor National Park. Climate projections by the Met Office for the Duchy of Cornwall, the private estate of the heir to the throne, are bleak as they show it will face greater heat stress for crops and livestock in summer and increased and more extreme rainfall in winter. Matthew Morris, rural director for the Duchy of Cornwall, said Dartmoor has been a grazed landscape for millennia, but "I think we are all agreed things need to change". And the Prince of Wales is leading the fight, backing a plan which will support wildlife alongside farming by reestablishing more traditional summer grazing seasons for cattle, sheep and ponies. The duchy and the Central Dartmoor Landscape Recovery (CDLR) project will also enforce rest periods for the land to give it time to recover and allow biodiversity to blossom. The duchy owns about 68,000 acres - 28 per cent - of Dartmoor, which became a National Park in 1951. As the Duchy of Cornwall is within the national park, Dartmoor is regarded in some circles as a royal treasure - or icon - and has long associations with The Firm. The national park contains three of the largest moorland Sites of Special Scientific Interest in the country, but none is in a "favourable condition", with rare moorland birds, such as golden plover, red grouse and ring ouzels, all but disappearing from the area. Writing in the foreword to the Landscape Vision for Dartmoor, William says: "Like the thousands of young people who set out on the Ten Tors Challenge each year, knowing your destination is essential before setting off on any journey. The Dartmoor Vision provides that destination. "It shows us what might be possible and how that might be achieved. It is bold and ambitious and something that I hope, by working together, can be delivered for not just the current generation but for generations to come." The royal adds to "keep Dartmoor special we must respond to the twin challenges of global warming and the requirement to restore nature, while ensuring the communities on Dartmoor can thrive" Climate scenarios predicting 2C of warming suggest Dartmoor may even stop being suitable for blanket peatland, leading to erosion and carbon release. Around 40 concerned landowners and farmers have got involved with William's project, which has several key aims. The 130-page Landscape Vision for Dartmoor document also details how the plan will aim to restorie peatlands, shelter rivers with heavily wooded valleys, and carry out large-scale natural flood management. The project will also provide affordable housing for landscape managers and retiring workers. Upward of 10,000 head of cattle were droved to the moor annually from nearby Devon parishes, records going back as far as the duchy's ownership starting in 1337 show.
BBC News
13-05-2025
- BBC News
Somerset scouts take on Ten Tors challenge for the 50th year
Scout groups have taken part in the famous Ten Tors challenge for the 50th year in a Gordano and Axe Scout Districts from Somerset took on the challenge, which sees teams of six young people aged between 14 and 19 participate in an unsupervised hiking challenge of 35, 45 or 55 miles across groups first took on the challenge in 1975 and ever since more than 4,000 children from them have taken part. This year, all 126 children participating successfully finished the challenge. One of the key people in the decades of Ten Tors challenges for the scouts from North Somerset has been Sue has been cooking for them the night before ever since the groups first entered the challenge, and this year fed the teams on rice and peas. The Ten Tors Challenge is attempted by 2,400 teenagers in 400 teams of year the North Somerset groups sent 21 teams, a total of 126 kids. The teams had to be self-sufficient, carrying all that they need to complete their route and stay out overnight are 14 checkpoints the children had to reach, mostly Tors and some Beacons and hills. The children have to navigate their own way around in the main expedition set off from Okehampton Camp at 07:00 BST and and had to return by 17:00 BST on Sunday.
BBC News
13-05-2025
- BBC News
How teenagers coped with a digital detox during 48-hour challenge
Young people taking part in the Ten Tors Challenge across Dartmoor in Devon said it was amazing to "detach" for technology as they had to give up their mobile phones for 48 members taking on the trek were forced into a "digital detox" as they had nothing but the essentials and as part of the event rules, and had to surrender their phones before setting out on the moor. Participant Milly, who attends Ivybridge Community College, said: "I think this generation finds it so hard to be away from their phones."She said she missed listening to music more than anything because it was "motivating". However, the team improvised and sang together instead, she added. Milly said: "I would have listened to some pop music, something like that."The team leader for Dartmoor Plodders said it was "very rare" for young people to have time without their phones these Brown said the 2,400 teenagers who took part in the annual event, aged between 14 and 19 years old, had a weekend in the wilderness where there was much more to look at, think about and do rather than looking at a screen."It gives you a view that there is something else in the world other than the screen in front of you," he Brown said he did receive some complaints from his team about not keeping their "streaks" - messaging or interacting with friends every day - which he did not whether he could be separated from his phone for a weekend, he said: "It was a bit different then and whether I could nowadays, I don't know."My excuse is that I need it for work, but I probably could." One Dartmoor Plodder, Charlotte, who completed the 35-mile (56km) route, said the thought of her phone being in a plastic bag at the starting line, not on her person, was "horrendous", but it did allow her team to build stronger team members and sisters Scarlet and Eleanor said they kept reaching to their pockets for their phone during the said: "Sometimes I would reach in my pocket to get it and it wasn't there, which was sad."Eleanor said she was distracted by the moor and walking around, so she forgot she did not have her phone, other than when she wanted to message people. Parents Lyn and Mark Winsper said daughters Scarlet and Eleanor were usually "glued" to their phones at home, adding it was good for them to have a little bit of time without Winsper said: "We always encourage to get out and about, phones are not integral to them, but two days without them is good."Mrs Winsper also said whenever they did go out as a family walks or horse-riding, away from their phones, photos did end up on social media shortly after, so it was "all linked". St Ives Secondary School teacher Laura McCall said teenagers not having their phones was a "big deal" and it was not something to be "underestimated"."They are very much used to having contact, like a lot of us are with the outside world and the internet," she also said students had noticed the positives about having a break from their mobile phones and were proud of their achievements."It is nice for them to have that understanding that, as much as they feel it is a necessity to them, they can actually achieve a lot without the aid of that. "In class, you do get the odd student using their phone to check the time. They use their phone for so much more than just contacting people."On Friday evening, ahead of the two-day challenge, she said the event allowed the team to socialise with other schools and people from different backgrounds they might not have been aware McCall said: "They were here playing chess with the different schools, and we had a few girls from other schools and they were braiding each other's hair for the next morning."It was so lovely to see the interaction between them all and, for them, to have the freedom to have fun."Members of the St Ives team, who completed the 35-mile challenge, said they were looking forward to a good night's rest and seeing their families over getting their phones back. Sgt Tosh Hodgkins, from the Army's HQ South West cadet training team, said the challenge enabled the participants to be away from distractions and do nothing but talk to each other for 48 said: "They make their decisions without referring to anything electronic and it just opens up their worlds to what they can achieve without having to rely on technology and Google."It strips everything away and puts them back to the people they are and they rebuild themselves."
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Yahoo
'Shattered' Ten Tors teams begin crossing finish line
Teams taking part in the Ten Tors Challenge are approaching the finish line on the final day of the "phenomenal" event. Thousands of teenagers from across the south west of England and beyond have been walking either 35, 45, or 55 miles (56, 72 or 88km) across Dartmoor. The annual challenge, organised by the British Army's Headquarters South West, was kicked off on Saturday by Gen Sir Roland Walker, and participants have until 17:00 BST to cross the finish line. Sgt Tosh Hodgkins, from the HQ South West cadet training team, said the challenge was "the most emotional" thing he had ever been involved in. Sgt Hodgkins said: "The guys that volunteer to come and help keep this event safe, it's genuinely like an enormous family. "The positivity up here is phenomenal, and everybody leaves with a complete buzz and a smile on their face." Sgt Hodgkins said the young people taking part in the challenge "inspire" him. The challenge, organised by the British Army's Headquarters South West, involves teams navigating routes across the northern half of Dartmoor in under two days. Participants must follow their allocated route, which specifies the staffed locations to visit and the order to visit them, but teams are responsible for navigating their own paths between those points. The first teams to cross the finish line, together, were the Torquay Boys Grammar School and the Dartmoor National Trust, who both completed 35-mile (56km) routes. Charlie Snell, from the Dartmoor National Trust team, said his team carried his bag for him for the last stretch of the trek because he had blisters on his feet. "They were the only reason I made it, I'm very grateful to everyone," he said. Ollie Brown, from Torquay Boys Grammar School, said he was "shattered" after completing the walk, but said "every single bit was worth it". More news stories for Devon Listen to the latest news for Devon Follow BBC Devon on X, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to spotlight@ Proud families cheer on Jubilee Challenge teams Teams set off to tackle 'immensely tough' Ten Tors Ten Tors: Rules, routes and safety measures Teamwork and adrenaline: How teens tackle Ten Tors
BBC News
11-05-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Ten Tors teams begin crossing finish line at 'phenomenal' event
Teams taking part in the Ten Tors Challenge are approaching the finish line on the final day of the "phenomenal" of teenagers from across the south west of England and beyond have been walking either 35, 45, or 55 miles (56, 72 or 88km) across annual challenge, organised by the British Army's Headquarters South West, was kicked off on Saturday by Gen Sir Roland Walker, and participants have until 17:00 BST to cross the finish Tosh Hodgkins, from the HQ South West cadet training team, said the challenge was "the most emotional" thing he had ever been involved in. Sgt Hodgkins said: "The guys that volunteer to come and help keep this event safe, it's genuinely like an enormous family."The positivity up here is phenomenal, and everybody leaves with a complete buzz and a smile on their face."Sgt Hodgkins said the young people taking part in the challenge "inspire" challenge, organised by the British Army's Headquarters South West, involves teams navigating routes across the northern half of Dartmoor in under two must follow their allocated route, which specifies the staffed locations to visit and the order to visit them, but teams are responsible for navigating their own paths between those points.
